White House wrote pro-Obamacare tweets for NFL players to parrot

White House officials sent out pre-formed tweets to the NFL players union to get former and current football stars to tout Obamacare on game day, the Washington Free Beacon reports.

Kyle Lierman, a White House Office of Public Engagement liaison, emailed a representative at the NFL Players Association Sunday, encouraging players to tweet in support of Obamacare during the Super Bowl and promising retweets and increased coverage in return. According to the Free Beacon’s sources, NFL union officials sent on Lierman’s request to marketing reps for various players.

Lierman added, “When folks tweet this out if they or you email me with their handle I can flag it for the @whitehouse and our other twitter handles to be retweeted, etc.”

Some players put their own twist on Lierman’s provided message, while others repeated the White House line verbatim. Brendon Ayanbadejo, a former linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens, sent out Lierman’s exact tweet, and was the only player to receive a retweet from the @WhiteHouse account.

Ayanbadejo ran with the idea, tweeting a series of ads for Obamacare coverage.

I know about getting injured and getting care. Football players need good healthcare more than anyone #getcovered

The NFL at large turned down the Obama administration’s request to sell Obamacare back in June. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius had expressed her interest in partnering with professional sports leagues to market Obamacare in the fall, but was turned down.

The Baltimore Ravens signed onto the Maryland Obamacare exchange’s proposal in October in a $130,000 contract. The team is pushing Obamacare coverage on television, radio, the Ravens’ website, newsletter and in social media.

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